What will I do when I re-enter the real world?

So on Wednesday I met this group of guys at Sprtiz, then on Friday as Im walking to mensa, I pass them and they immediately recognize and remember me. Next thing I know I have their numbers and an invitation to one guy’s apartment for dinner. The most fantastic pasta carbonara was prepared for me. Literally the best pasta Ive had since Ive been here. I was shocked. I hate to be stereotypical, but many of my guy friends struggle to make Ramen noodles, so I had low expectations. As far as Im concerned these guys can cook for me whenever they want! I told them though next time Ill cook to return the favor. Best part is that this one guy literally lives one minute from my house. So now I have a whole group of nearby Italian friends.

Saturday was the festa delle donne- the festival of women. At first I thought it was similar to Mother’s Day, but then the kids and father started wishing me well also and Valentina informed that all women were celebrated.

I’m still having trouble with doors in the house. After Wednesday night of being locked out, Friday I was locked in. I had to get the housekeeper (cause the parents were already sleeping) who probably thinks that Im a complete idiot to help me with the door. I remember the first week living here it took me forever to open the door. I always had to use my key and I would spend forever twisting it in various directions. Sometime during the second week the mother showed me a button on the side of the wall – you push it and the magnetic lock releases and you can open the door without a key to exit. She was like, how have you been getting out of the house? I was too embarrassed to even try to explain. I was also shown how a similar technique is used to enter the house. Good to know right?

I spend quite a bit of time with the family this weekend. I ate lunch at home both days, and even went to Church today with them. I helped cook, set the table, and toasted with the parents with Pursecco (sp?) mixed with this syrup. (I have no idea what it is, but Im going to start drinking it with my Pursecco all the time now.) I had no idea what was going on during church. All I know is that the priest ask a lot of question and said “perche” many times using various intonations. (Perche means why)

I’m making leaps and bounds with Giorgio. Today after church we spun around in the piazza and he wanted to hold my hand for a bit as we walked home. Also, today the mom decided I could be the big sister and thus the kids had to do everything I said. In practice this didn’t work out so well. The more comfortable Ive gotten with the kids, and they with me, the more trouble I seem to cause. Like yesterday I found them in their room sword fighting and I joined in. When the parents came upstairs, swords dropped and they started looking around like nothing had happened. The parents were like, ‘ok whats going on’ and I took the blame and was like ‘Sorry! Im the problem. We were sword fighting.’ And then today at lunch, Adriano, who sits next to me, was saving all of his fish to eat at the end in his pasta con frutta del mare (spaghetti with like fish and shrimp and octopus etc) and so I pretended like I was going to steal his fish and moved my fork over his plate. He of course shoved my hand out of the way, but then a second later he tried to take a shrimp off my plate and his parents saw and were like “Adriano! Be polite!” And so again I had to be like, ‘sorry, I started it.” The worst problems usually occur with Giorgio because of the language barrier and his handicap. He rarely initiate interaction, so I typically try to talk to him or engage him a bit. Physically he doesn’t respond the way you would assume a normal eight-year-old would. For example, today he was running behind me at the table, which he does frequently. Typically I acknowledge his presence by saying Ciao. Usually Im ignored, but sometimes hell come over to me. When he came over today he started punching me. The dad had to come over and sternly tell him to stop. But then it was like it became a game. He would run over to me and hit me while yelling to his father to look. It puts me in an awkward position cause on the one hand I know that he doesn’t mean any harm. On the other hand, I know that his parents are trying to teach him what his socially acceptable and what is not and I don’t want to reinforce bad behavior. I also sometimes feel like because I say Ciao to him its like I initiate the game, but I also feel like the parents appreciate the fact that I pay attention to him and understand that its not my fault that he responds differently. I have a hard time expressing all of this in Italian. Today was a success though cause I was able to tell Giorgio while he tried to hit me that “No, this is not a game and not funny. And your father already told you to stop.” Then when his father was scolding him off to the side, I was able to tell the mom that “He doesn’t bother me, but I understand you don’t want him acting like this and I want you to know that I understand he isn’t purposely being mean.” …I’ve heard it said many times that God doesn’t give people more than they are capable to handle. And I was thinking about that today when we were in Church and I was watching Giorgio and his parents. He really could not have two more perfectly suited parents for his condition…whatever it is. They just handle it so fluidly and I watch in amazement. It is only now becoming visible to me the extent of Giorgio’s disability. The parents handle it so well, it is sometimes unnoticeable.

In other news, I am bored sick of my music collection. I have no idea what new songs are now popular in the US, but if you’ve ever wondered where our one-hit wonders go to die when we kick them off our radio stations, the answer is Europe. No joke yesterday I heard Maneater (sung by a man though) in a store. Today at breakfast Dire Straights was on the radio, and last night the pizza man was dancing to Justin Timberlake. Best of all was at my internet café when these old men came in to perform and started singing poorly translated versions of Bob Marley- my friend was like, wait why have the lyrics changed! So now Ive started listening to things on my Itunes that I acquired from who-knows-where and never listened to much previously. This would include various reggae and some classical selections. Right now Lux Aeterna from Requiem For A Dream is on repeat. I need to find some Italian music, or get my sister to email me new songs.